High Court rejects plain packaging challenge

[AndyS]

A couple of years ago on Q&A the Health Minister (cant remember who at the time) was asked this question on who much they actually receive back from taxing smokes.

I cant remember the exact amounts but it was something like $8 Billion a year are raised from the sales. But she then when on to say that it costs them over $30 billion a year on medical bills as a direct result from smoking.

Ahhh, statistics, got to love them. They count any health issue a smoker has as smoking related. In 2008 Australia spent ~$100b on health. In 2008, 23% of men and 19% of women smoked. So basically, a slightly higher spend on smokers, just statistically significant but easily covered by the excise they paid. Possibly more interesting though is that health expenditure has increased ~5% in real terms every year since '98. Over the same timeframe, numbers of smokers has been consistently dropping...

The reality is nicely shown by my family. Two uncles, both smoked, one dropped dead without warning in his 50's and one died within about 6 months of a cancer verdict in his early sixties. Three grandparents never smoked, all lived well into their nineties, ten years past their minds, drawing pensions for 30 years and consuming handfuls of prescribed pills a day on the pharmaceutical benefits scheme. Who had the bigger impact on the health system then...?

[Happy]

so your saying we should all smoke to save the federal govt money ?

[travelling_gerry]

so your saying we should all smoke to save the federal govt money ?

Correct!

[shasta]

Feckitty, feck; thank f@ck Rugby starts again on Saturday.

[Hansie]

They count any health issue a smoker has Possibly more interesting though is that health expenditure has increased ~5% in real terms every year since '98. Over the same timeframe, numbers of smokers has been consistently dropping...

Sadly I believe the increase in health expenditure relates to our increase in society of Fat people.

$100.00 a pack for cigs, $50.00 for a Big Mac or Whopper, 10c for a pint of beer ? Whaddayarekin?

[jono]

do you smoke jono ?

not anymore.

[The InnFORCEr]

If pints were only 10c I could afford to smoke $100 packs of ciggies!!

[The InnFORCEr]

not anymore.

But you do look like you're on fire

[Happy]

bahahahaha

[travelling_gerry]

All things being equal - Us fat people use more soap.

[Invictus]

Ahhh, statistics, got to love them. They count any health issue a smoker has as smoking related. In 2008 Australia spent ~$100b on health. In 2008, 23% of men and 19% of women smoked. So basically, a slightly higher spend on smokers, just statistically significant but easily covered by the excise they paid. Possibly more interesting though is that health expenditure has increased ~5% in real terms every year since '98. Over the same timeframe, numbers of smokers has been consistently dropping...

The reality is nicely shown by my family. Two uncles, both smoked, one dropped dead without warning in his 50's and one died within about 6 months of a cancer verdict in his early sixties. Three grandparents never smoked, all lived well into their nineties, ten years past their minds, drawing pensions for 30 years and consuming handfuls of prescribed pills a day on the pharmaceutical benefits scheme. Who had the bigger impact on the health system then...?

So we should all go out and dispose of a couple of old people....

[jargan83]

Feckitty, feck; thank f@ck Rugby starts again on Saturday.

What are you miserable about

Your band of mungos are going alright

[SNOB]

I'm just glad I gave up! I think the governments all over the world earn to much from the taxes to ban it. They are all a bunch of hypocrites.

[AndyS]

so your saying we should all smoke to save the federal govt money ?

Not particularly, but I am saying that folk getting on high horses about the costs of smoking and banning treatment of smokers is just a BS way of justifying a prejudice against something they personally dislike. Probably something like an AFL supporter demanding rugby be banned due to the high incidence of broken necks in the scrum...

[DinkyDi]

Ultimately though, smokers are not doing anything illegal. Sure, 99% understand the health risks but it is a bitch to quit once you have been hooked. No real excuses for this but so be it. However, smokers are treated by most as pure evil.... give them a break. Its a personal choice and if they don't annoy you why should they be the subject of so much vitriol - Obesity is a far bigger problem in Aus than smoking as is alcohol.